Saturday Slumgullion

Ellisong Studios is currently selling t-shirts, posters, and stickers to help fund its upcoming documentary Out Of Time - The Material Issue Story. The film concerns the power pop band, which along with Liz Phair, Smashing Pumpkins, and Urge Overkill, brought major media attention to Chicago’s vibrant music scene in the early 1990s. Out Of Time is due out in 2021.

Led Zeppelin’s 2012 concert film Celebration Day began a four-day run this afternoon on the band’s official YouTube channel. The two-hour-plus performance itself actually took place in 2007, and includes most of Led Zeppelin’s biggest hits.

On the topic of music documentaries, an article by Jon Bream in yesterday’s Chicago Tribune (picked up from the Minneapolis Star Tribune) recommends several films that can be watched on streaming services or DVDs. Bream’s list includes documentaries about Bob Dylan (Don’t Look Back), Al Green (Gospel According To Al Green), Los Angeles punk (The Decline Of Western Civilization) Sixto Rodriguez (Searching For Sugarman), Amy Winehouse (Amy), David Crosby (David Crosby: Remember My Name) and a number of others.

Dion started with The Belmonts back in the late 1950s, and these days, he’s recording with Jeff Beck, Bruce Springsteen, Joe Louis Walker, Van Morrison, Brian Setzer, Joe Bonamassa, Sonny Landreth, Steven Van Zandt, and other famous musicians. The Bonamassa-produced Blues With Friends album is available for pre-order on Amazon, and a number of the tracks are already available for purchase in digital format.

Tickets are now on sale for Sinead O’Connor at City Winery Chicago August 18 through August 21, 2021; Tom Rush at City Winery Chicago November 19, 2020; and Sunshine Boys and Bobbleheads at SPACE September 5. Sunshine Boys have just released their second album, Work And Love, and it’s a solid follow-up to their stellar 2018 debut Blue Music.

Chicago area illustrator Terry Murphy recently posted a video on YouTube documenting her process for designing a t-shirt for the Pino Farina Band. The band’s song “Ocean Deep” plays while Murphy takes viewers through the process. The shirt can be purchased online for a limited time at the Waist Up pop up store. Murphy has illustrated several children’s books and is a member of the Society Of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Full disclosure: I’m also a member of the same northwest Illinois chapter of SCBWI as her, and she has given me some essential advice about my novels over the years.

Manchester Lemon, the U.K. website that champions rock bands such as Oasis, Stone Roses, and The Smiths that have come from the city of Manchester, will open its online store tomorrow. It should be interesting to see what they have for sale.

Jimy Sohns and Jerry McGeorge from the original Shadows Of Knight have reunited and recorded a garage rock single titled “Wild Man” that’s now available on Spotify and other streaming services. It’s first time they’ve worked together since 1967. The Chicago-based Shadows Of Knight first gained national attention back in the 1960s with their cover of Them’s “Gloria.”

The Sound He Appears To Make

Peter Howarth of The Hollies

Cameos on the chorus. The Hollies have created a video for an Unlocked version of their 1974 hit single “The Air That I Breathe” featuring current members performing it in isolation. It’s a particularly good showcase for lead vocalist Peter Howarth, who was also impressive performing an acoustic version of “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” on a clip that was previously posted on the band’s Facebook page. The bare bones arrangement serves the song’s romantic sentiments well, and there’s an additional uplifting message in these difficult times.

Fans will no doubt welcome an opportunity to see the band since it cancelled its U.K. and U.S. tours due to the coronavirus. Some fans will see themselves in the clip—literally. A while back, The Hollies sent out a request via emails and social media for people to film themselves singing the extended chorus at the end. I was one of those who responded, and can be seen on the bottom right corner of a montage that appears around the four-minute-thirteen-second mark. I’m actually more excited by the prospect of The Hollies continuing to create videos like this while fans around the world are unable to see live concerts.

Gigantosaur, the full-length debut from Tiny Bit Of Giant’s Blood is now available on a limited-edition vinyl version, as well as on CD and digital formats. The Chicago-based quartet of club scene veterans offers guitar-driven and spooky glam rock with a consistent vein of satirical humor.

Doctor Who fans of Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams AKA Mr. Pond) most likely enjoyed watching him and actress-musician Ines de Clerq performing Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” in a living room setting recently on Instagram.

Australian power pop outfit The Jangle Band’s new Metro Hotel EP is now available on frontman Joe Algeri’s Egomaniac Bandcamp page. It’s another melodic effort, particularly on the title track and “Dusk Till Dawn,” and having five vocalists results in some terrific harmonies. Check out the acapella singing on “So Long (stax-o-trax vocal mix.)”

Sharon Lee and Karen Lynn of The Bookends showed their expertise in recreating 1960s garage rock and pop on their Far Away But Around album a few years ago, and now the duo is back with a new single titled “She’s Got It!” The new track exudes a fun espionage ambience that wouldn’t be out of place on an Austin Powers soundtrack. Lee’s bass drives the irresistible beat and both band members sing. The song is available as a digital download on Amazon and Apple music.

The Pretenders have released another song in digital format from its upcoming Hate For Sale album. “Didn’t Want To Be This Lonely,” got its first airplay yesterday on Zoe Ball’s BBC Breakfast Show. Like the previously released title track and “Turf Accountant Daddy,” this new song has the ramped-up energy and lyrical bite fans have come to expect from The Pretenders. “Didn’t Want To Be This Lonely” tackles the complicated emotions of a woman kicking her abusive mate to the curb and adjusting to being alone. Hate For Sale, comes out July 17.

Saturday Slumgullion

According to a Facebook post from Lorinda Murphy (Jeff’s wife) on the Shoes: Official Fan Page, a new seven-inch vinyl single from Shoes will be coming out on the Spanish label You Are The Cosmos June 15. “The Joke’s On You” and “Wrong Idea” previously appeared on the band’s 2012 album Ignition. The single will likely be available in America from Get Hip Recordings.

Legendary jazz performer/composer and radio personality Ramsey Lewis will celebrate his 85th birthday via a 50-minute concert (including encore) that will be live streamed next Saturday, May 30. Tickets for the intimate performance are $20 and can be purchased Stageit website. A portion of the proceeds will benefit The Jazz Foundation Of America.

Australian power pop outfit The Jangle Band will most likely live up to its name again when its new Metro Hotel EP comes out next week. Frontman Joe Algeri can be seen promoting its release with his usual offbeat humor on The Jangle Band Facebook page.

The 2020 edition of the CHIRP Record Fair and Other Delights take place on October 3, after being moved from its usual spring-time arrival. It’s still being held at the Local Plumbers Union Hall on Washington Street. Hosted by CHIRP Radio 107.1 FM, the event offers an amazing selection of rare vinyl, CDs, posters, and other memorabilia.

Tickets are now on sale for Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary GeneseeTheatre on October 4; and Chris Hillman. Herb Pedersen, and John Jorgenson at City Winery on October 25.

Yesterday’s edition of the Chicago Tribune carried Variety writer J. Kim Murphy preview of summer movies. The earlier films will show up Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, etc, but from July on, Murphy covers ones that will have a theatrical release. Of course, the one that caught my eyes was director Peter Jackson’s The Beatles Get Back, which is due out September 4.

Incoming

WXRT continues to bring on the big names in its Monday-Wednesday-Friday night series Live From The Archives. The local station has already aired vintage concerts from Blondie, Roxy Music, Robert Plant and others, and this Friday (May 22), it’s offering a 2008 performance by R.E.M. at SXSW. As noted on XRT’s website, the band had just released its Accelerate album at the time and was eager to unveil hard-edged songs such as “Man-Sized Wreath,” “Supernatural Superserious,” and the title track onstage.

WXRT has supported R.E.M. from the early 1980s. I still remember being blown away by “Wolves, Lower” the very first time I heard it on the station. When the DJ announced it was from a new band called R.E.M., I bought its Chronic Town EP within a few days. Who could have guessed back then how many great songs would emerge from R.E.M. albums in the coming years. Tomorrow night’s 90-minute concert begins at 9:00 p.m., and can be streamed via WXRT online.

A new series called Manic Mondays On Friday with Susanna Hoffs and Friends kicks off tomorrow afternoon on the We Are Hear YouTube channel at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Hoffs and co-host comedian-musician-writer Tam Yajia will be joined by Fred Armisen, Cecily Strong, and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea. So expect some comedy along with the music. We Are Hear helps raise money for musicians affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

In other Bangles news, the band is offering an autographed CD bundle deal of Ladies and Gentlemen . . . The Bangles and Sweetheart Of The Sun for $60 over the Memorial Day weekend. 

As reported by Miriam Di Nunzio in today’s edition of the Chicago Sun-Times, Dennis DeYoung of Styx and Survivor/Ides Of March frontman Jim Peterik will headline the FEED Chicago Virtual Summer Fest on June 4. Donations will definitely be welcome, with funds going to the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Longtime Chicago recording artist Michael McDermott will also be on the bill, along with popular local cover bands Sixteen Candles, Wedding Banned, and Boy Band Review. Whenever I mention Peterik on Broken Hearted Toy, I remember how he was the first musician I ever interviewed—back when I was on the staff of the Chicago Illini newspaper at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Saturday Slumgullion

If you missed John Taylor of Duran Duran interviewing Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles on social media this past Thursday, you can watch the 45-minute discussion now on YouTube. Each of them came across as engaging and down to earth, and there’s an obvious friendship between these two that dates back to the 1980s. In addition to learning how both loved music from early childhood, it was interesting to hear how Hoffs drove to the studio where Prince was recording to pick up a demo cassette of “Manic Monday.” He had been impressed with the video of The Bangles’ “The Hero Takes A Fall” and hoped they would record a song he wrote specifically for them. Hoffs still has the cassette. She also revealed she’s working on music to record once she’s able to get back to a studio, and is writing a novel. I found that last bit particularly inspiring since I’ve been polishing my rock and roll novel lately. Good luck to us both.

As mentioned by writer Abdel Jimenez in the Business section of today’s Chicago Tribune, several star athletes and entertainment celebrities will participate in a Sweet Home Chicago benefit for the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund starting today (May 16) at 5:00 p.m. The event will be broadcast on NBC Sports Chicago, and streamed on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. Comedian/actor/writer Deon Cole (Blackish, Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien) will host. Jimenez notes in his article that nationwide, the COVID-19 Response Fund has raised over $32 million.

Things I recently learned from Instagram, Part 1. According to the Legends Of Music page, Elvis Presley was a huge fan of Dean Martin, and once called him “The King Of Cool.”

The Go-Go’s have moved this summer’s tour dates to 2021, but those of us who’ve been fans from the start will be able to watch the The Go-Go’s documentary tonight on Showtime. I first saw The Go-Go’s at ChicagoFest on Navy Pier; then later in Grant Park, and a few years ago at Ravinia. They always give their fans a fun, highly active show.

The other morning while listening to WXRT, I heard DJ Richard Milne mention that rock critic Bill Wyman has created a list for New York agazine titled All 165 Pink Floyd Songs Ranked From Worst To Best. Wyman notes in his introduction that 2020 marks the 50th Anniversary of Floyd’s debut The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. He places the title track of Wish You Were Here at number one. Six tracks from The Dark Side Of The Moon are listed in the top twenty.

Tickets are now on sale for Rock and Roll Playhouse Presents The Music Of The Grateful Dead for Kids June 14 at Thalia Hall; Rock and Roll Playhouse Presents The Music Of Bob Marley for Kids July 26 at Thalia Hall; Boz Skaggs at the North Shore Center For The Performing Arts on July 20; and the CHIRP Radio Showcase featuring Bringers, God Awful Small Affairs; and Flamingo Rodeo at GMan Tavern on November 12.

The above listings are from this week’s edition of The Reader, which had a very limited distribution but is available online via the weekly free paper’s website.

Things I recently learned from Instagram, Part 2. According to the Rock And Blues Muse page, Graham Nash recently told CBS Sunday Morning that he’s composed about six new songs while maintaining social isolation.

Tanya Donelly and The Parkington Sisters have released a bit of their Go-Go’s cover “Automatic” as a preview of a full album of them performing well-known songs by The Pretenders, Leonard Cohen, Wings, Linda Ronstadt and other artists. Their haunting take on “Automatic” suggests these new versions will be imaginative reinventions of the originals. The album is due out on the indie American Laundromat label in August.

Things I recently learned from Instagram, Part 3. Actor Christopher Eccleston, known for portraying John Lennon, as well as The Doctor on Doctor Who, posted a photo of himself holding a tea towel with the names of The Hollies, The Smiths, The Fall, Happy Mondays, Joy Division, The Charlatans, Inspiral Carpets, and The Ting Tings printed on it. The towels can be purchased at the Salford Lads Club website. The club provides opportunities for local young people in sports and arts.

Incoming

Happy Birthday to the ultimate British Invasion troubadour, Donovan. Songs like “Sunshine Superman,” “Mellow Yellow,” “Hurdy Gurdy Man,” and “Wear Your Love Like Heaven” remain flower power classics to this day. Here’s a clip of him performing “Sunshine Superman” to help put everyone in a better mood.

Fans of the recently reunited English trio Supergrass can tune in to YouTube at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow (May 13) for a previously unseen acoustic video of “Caught By The Fuzz.” It was directed by well-known music video directors Dom and Nic (Nic Goffey and Dominic Hawley). The rollicking song is from their sterling debut album I Should Coco, which was released 25 years ago. I’ve probably mentioned this a few times here, but when my editor at the Illinois Entertainer first heard Supergrass, he told himself, “This is a Terry Flamm group if I’ve ever heard one.” And he was right.

The Zombies are offering autographed CDs of the 50th Anniversary edition of their Odyssey and Oracle album on their website. The special bonus edition has seven bonus tracks.

LiveWire Lounge on Milwaukee Avenue has created an online store to sell t-shirts with its logo or a fight Covid-19 message. It’s a fun way to support the venue until it’s back to booking live shows again.

Congratulations to producer/author Vivek J. Tiwary of the Tiwary Entertainment Group on being named to the Gold House third annual A100 List of Most Impactful Asians. I talked to Tiwary at The Fest For Beatles Fans - Chicago a few years back when I bought a copy of his graphic novel The Fifth Beatle - The Brian Epstein Story. He came across as genuinely friendly, and moments later was giving a presentation about how The Fifth Beatle would become a live action movie. Tiwary has also produced Jagged Little Pill, the successful Broadway play based on the 1995 Alanis Morissette album.

Incoming

Power pop lost one of its best practitioners when Fountains Of Wayne and Ivy singer-bassist Adam Schlesinger died recently from Covid-19 complications. One of the many tributes to him came about when singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten and FOW members Chris Collingwood, Jody Porter, and Brian Young—each working separately—recorded a new version of Schlesinger’s song “Hackensack.” It’s an easy-going version that underscores the band’s knack for crafting pleasant melodies with lyrics that combine humor with a touch of melancholy. I had the pleasure of seeing Fountains Of Wayne on a few occasions, and they were fun shows. The song is available to download on the group’s Bandcamp page, with all proceeds going to the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund.

Chicago Independent Media Alliance (CIMA), a new organization of independent media outlets spearheaded by publisher Tracy Baim of the Chicago Reader, is running a savechicagomedia  campaign throughout this month. Visitors to the website can choose to have their donation go to one of the outlets or have it spread across all 43 involved. As noted in a fundraising email from Baim, some members of the alliance have encountered revenue losses as high as 85 percent.

Radio station WXRT continues its Live From the XRT Concert Archives series this week with a 1990 performance by Santana at the World Music Theatre in Tinley Park airing tonight; a 2003 Joe Jackson show at The Vic airing Wednesday night; and a 2013 Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters at concert at Taste Of Chicago airing on Friday. Tune in to WXRT at 9:00 p.m. on those nights for the live rock and roll. You can also stream the concerts on the station’s website.

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I heard the muse today, oh boy. The Fest For Beatles Fans - Chicago arrives on the weekend of August 7 – 9, and the rescheduled NY Metro version is set for October 9 – 11. In the meantime, The Fest continues to offer virtual events on its Facebook page to keep us entertained. Tonight, Jenny Boyd, Patty’s younger sister and the inspiration for a Donovan hit song, read from her book Jennifer Juniper - A Journey Beyond The Muse. Depending on when you see this, you can catch performers Phil Angotti (7:00 p.m. EDT) and Scott Erickson (8:00 p.m. EDT) celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the release of Let It Be. Both of these guys have been impressive on the Apple Jam Stage in the past. The Fest For Beatles Fans also continues to sell a wide variety of Beatles-related merchandise via its website.

My nephew and Season 15 Top Chef winner Joe Flamm is doing a live cooking demonstration today on the Goose Island Instagram page. He’ll be preparing Croatian style chicken wings while raising funds for the No Kid Hungry charitable foundation. Tune in to get some tips and make a donation to a worthy cause. I still have a small ceramic statue of a British beefeater guard that Joe saw in a store when he was very small and told his mother, “Uncle Terry would love that!” I guess it’s always been pretty obvious I’m an Anglophile.

With extra time on my hands, I’ve been going through boxes of vintage publications I’ve collected over the years, and tossing any that, as Marie Kondo says, don’t spark joy. Sometimes, it’s a tough call, especially for newspapers or magazines from other cities or countries. Others get an immediate thumbs up. Such was the case with the November 1979 issue of the Illinois Entertainer, with its Chicago Bands Primed For The ‘80s cover story. This was eight years before I joined the paper. Publisher Ken Voss, editor Guy C. Arnston, and the IE staff created an essential guide for then, and an amazing souvenir for decades to come.

The local acts featured included Cheap Trick, Off Broadway, Fenton Robinson, Shoes, The Hounds, Pezband, Curtis Mayfield, Yipes!, Styx, Wazmo Nariz, John Prine, Trillion, Luther Allison, Survivor, and Brian Stevens. Contributor Robert Pruter’s feature article The Soul Of Chicago - Alive And Singing honored Linda Clifford, Earth, Wind and Fire, Staple Singers, The Impressions, and others. An extended Streetwalkin’ column offered profiles on Jump ’n The Saddle, Harvey Mandel, Clox, Dadistics, Dreamer, B.B. Spin, Madfox, Bitch, Pearl Handle, Big Twist, Pin-Ups, All Star Frogs, Dick Eastman, Fayrewether, Heartsfield, Ouray, Public Enemy, Risk!, Star Trooper, and others. If the above list brings back memories, you no doubt appreciate Chicago’s wide-ranging, multi-genre history of great music. And it continues today.

Slumgullion

They’re playing “Oh Yeah” on the radio. The Live From The XRT Concert Archives series continues tonight at 9:00 p.m. CST with a Roxy Music performance at the Cleveland Coliseum in 1979. The long-running FM station WXRT has been airing vintage concerts from its vault on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights for those of us who miss the thrill of seeing our favorite acts in person. Tonight’s broadcast is being sponsored by The Old Town School Of Folk Music, and can be streamed online from the WXRT website. This coming Monday, it will be a Spooner show recorded at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago in 2007.

The Rolling Stones have a new six-part weekly series called Extra Licks starting on YouTube this Sunday. The band will streaming footage from some of its concerts over the years. The show is at 8:00 p.m. BST, 3:00 p.m. ET, 2:00 p.m. CT, and 12:00 p.m. PT.

It may be hard to picture now, but four Chicago area venues—Cobra Lounge, Liar’s Club, LiveWire Lounge, and Reggies—are planning an actual festival where you can watch bands perform. You’ll have to wait until the weekend of December 11–13 to do it. Ads on social media promise Save The Rock N Roll will have free bus shuttles, punk rock, live band karaoke, bingo, comedy, venue memorabilia raffles, and lots of bands. As far off as that seems, please keep in mind that we all need to behave sensibly in the coming months if we’re ever going to escape the coronavirus.

Tickets are now on sale for The Happy Together Tour featuring The Turtles, Chuck Negron from Three Dog Night, The Association, Mark Lindsay from Paul Revere and The Raiders, The Buckinghams, The Vogues, and The Cowsills at the Genesee Theatre August 8; Lilly Hiatt and Harmaleighs at Schubas on August 19; Sonny Landreth at SPACE on July 10; Over The Rhine at SPACE on June 27; Katie Toupin at Schubas on August 27; and Webb Wilder and the Beatnecks at FitzGerald’s on June 20.

The above listings are from this week’s edition of The Reader, which had a very limited distribution but is available online via the weekly free paper’s website. You can also subscribe to The Reader and have it delivered to your home.

The May issue of the Illinois Entertainer, with Tom Lanham’s cover story on Lucinda Williams, can be viewed on the publication’s website. This issue also features his interview with former Runaway Cherie Currie, and Rosalind Cumming-Yeates’ tribute to the blues icon Otis Clay.

Former Hollies lead vocalist Allan Clarke, whose impressive 2019 release Resurgence was his first solo effort in years, has just recorded a powerful new version of The Hollies hit “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” with piano player Francis Haines that’s available for download on iTunes, Amazon, and other sites. All proceeds will go to the the NHS Covid-19 Urgent Appeal.

Work And Love, the second album from Chicago trio Sunshine Boys, was officially released today on Pravda Records. Dag Juhlin, Freda Love Smith, and Jacqueline Schimmel have returned with another batch of melodic and occasionally confrontational rock tunes in a worthy follow-up to their 2018 debut Blue Music. Juhlin will be discussing the new Sunshine Boys album and playing some live songs as a special guest on The Power Pop Shoppe - Home School Vol. 2 Facebook event next Monday, May 4 at 8:30 p.m. The program, hosted by DJ Gil and DJ BK will also feature Reinhard van Biljon from the Cape Town, South Africa power pop band The Cudas.

Outronaut, a guitar-fueled hot rod of a quartet that favors twangy instrumentals, released its fourth album, Kill The Light, on its Bandcamp page today.

Back in 2002, I was one of thousands of employees laid off by Arthur Andersen during its Enron crisis. With extra time on my hands, I strung together six parody songs based my experiences during the ordeal. After convincing Famous In The Future we could base a show on them, I sent copies of my script to various members of the media. Amazingly, some of them found the concept of a musical composed by a former Andersen employee intriguing, and asked to interview me. My story was featured in the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reader, and a few local papers. Damn Andersen became our biggest hit; selling out small theaters in the Chicago area.

This Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. founding member Frank Carr is posting a triple bill viewing party on the Famous In The Future Facebook page. Each show is from 2002, when I was still a member of this comedy group. Two Chicks is Frank’s parody on religious comedy strips; Damn Andersen is my musical parody; and Masters Of Anonymity is a group-created skit and song revue. If my memory serves, Two Chicks and Masters of Anonymity have graphic language, so viewer discretion is advised.